Musicians are often the people that I enjoy writing about. Even though that there are times when I have no idea who these artists are or what kind of music they make, I still enjoy the process of finding out about them. Often there are moments when I get surprised when I find out that they wrote a song that I grew up listening to. What can you do? It’s hard to remember the title of the song and the artist or group that performed them when you’re young.
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There is that one time when I was writing about Franke Previte that I found out that he was one of the people who were involved in writing and composing the song “(I’ve Had) The Time Of My Life” from the movie “Dirty Dancing.” When I found out about that, my mind was blown. Sometimes you just learn about stuff later in life. And that’s what’s exciting about it. You never really know what kind of information you’ll get. Some people may have already known it. But the thrill of learning about something you didn’t know before is such a great feeling.
But there are moments where researching about a certain musician or band just leads you to just learn about them. There are no moments where you go, “They were involved in this?!” You just kind of get introduced to them and their life and that’s it. Maybe it will bring some kind of appreciation for their work. But not to a point where you’d begin to listen more to their work. I don’t think I have ever continued listening to any of the music of the people that I have written about. Sometimes, it’s just not my preferred genre or sound.
I know that it’s weird to say that before I write about a certain musician. But I have come to terms that my taste in music will not change that much. I feel like I already know what kind of sounds I am more prone to listen to. There might be a chance where I really get into a song that was made before I was even born. But it really depends on the kind of song.
I enjoy the aesthetics that came with the punk movement. There’s something about the grunginess of the art being made during that era that I personally like. But definitely I am a few decades removed from it to fully understand the breadth of the politics and the art that came from that era. There have been a lot of punk bands since the start of the era so the sound hasn’t really gone away. But it’s definitely still has some of the mentality that came with it.
Like a lot of musicians, Tom Verlaine spent his childhood playing instruments. In his case, he studied piano. But he eventually moved to the saxophone as he grew up. He apparently wasn’t all that into guitar during that time. But it was until he listened to one of the songs from The Rolling Stones that he decided to give it a try. It seems that he was a generally impressionable boy growing up. Even him deciding to play the saxophone came about because he listened to a jazz album. He definitely was into jazz growing up. He was heavily influenced by some of Miles Davis’s records.
Aside from playing music, Tom also had an interest in writing and poetry. During his time at a boarding school, he met, who would then be his future bandmate, Richard Meyers. They quickly bonded over their passion in music and poetry. They actually tried to escape from school to do their own thing. Somehow, they managed to do it on the second try.
Once they escaped from school, they started to create their personas. Soon after, Tom and Richard formed the band “The Neon Boys.” But that band disbanded after they couldn’t get a second guitar player. Eventually they managed to reform to what is now the band “Television.” The group as it stood did a bunch of shows around bars in New York. Eventually, Richard got kicked out of the band for his erratic behavior and was replaced by Fred Smith. In the 1980s, Tom started his solo career and released albums up until 2006. At that point, he had a net worth of $2,500,000.
